Small plane crashes on popular island off Southern California, sparks brushfire

Plane crashes on Calif. island, sparks brushfire

AVALON, Calif. — A small plane crashed Thursday on Catalina Island and ignited a brushfire after the pilot reported having a possible heart attack, authorities said.

Firefighters could not immediately reach the aircraft, which crashed on the popular tourist destination more than 20 miles off Southern California. It was unclear how many people were on the plane and whether anyone was hurt.

The plane went down shortly after 1 p.m. about two miles from the island’s airport, said Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Donahue.

The pilot radioed the island’s airfield, Airport in the Sky, to report he was having chest pains that could indicate a heart attack and didn’t think he could make the runway, Donahue said.

Firefighters battled the 15-acre fire caused by the crash with aerial water drops as fire engines were being brought in by barge to the remote area near Echo Lake. The burn area was 50 percent surrounded by Thursday afternoon.

Donahue said several youth camps in the area were not immediately threatened by the fire.

Catalina’s small airport sits at an elevation of about 1,600 feet in the mountainous interior, with a steep drop-off at one end of the runway.